Contents

Hosmer's father, Mike, is a retired firefighter, and his mother, Ileana, is a nurse.[2] His mother was born in Cuba and came to the United States at the age of seven with her family to escape Fidel Castro's regime, growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[3] His parents met in 1979 when Mike was assigned to duty at Coral Gables Hospital in Coral Gables, Florida, where Ileana worked. They married four years later.[3] Their first son Mike Jr. was born in 1985, and Eric was born four years later in Miami.[3]

Growing up in Cooper City, Hosmer credited his family for helping him succeed as a baseball player. He began playing baseball at an early age, using a Tony Gwynnteeball hitter to take practice swings.[3] His father volunteered to work 48-hour shifts in a firehouse in Liberty City, a tough neighborhood in Miami, to focus on his son's baseball games which he usually coached.[3] The Hosmers traveled all over the state, and as far as Cooperstown, New York, home of the Baseball Hall of Fame, to play in baseball tournaments.[3] At home, Hosmer watched Florida Marlins games to study the hitting techniques of the team players in order to improve his skills.[3] His father helped him with batting practice after finishing long shifts at work, while his mother helped with his homework and recorded every baseball game to evaluate Hosmer's baseball ability and further hone his skills.[2] By the time Hosmer reached high school, he worked out "close to seven hours a day" and mainly ate protein, which helped form his muscular build.[4] Hosmer's family hired Bladimir Marrero, a highly regarded hitting instructor, to help with their son's skills.[5] His brother Mike also played baseball, receiving a scholarship to Florida State University. He was never interested in becoming a professional baseball player, however, and is a stock broker in Miami.[3]

By the time Hosmer was a teenager, he was a member of several Little League baseball squads that won a couple of state championships.[5] He attended American Heritage School in Plantation, Florida. His parents selected American Heritage because of their rich baseball program, which was considered to be one of the best in the United States, despite the expensive tuition.[3] By Hosmer's sophomore year, he grew eight inches in size, becoming a powerful prep prospect.[5] In his senior year, Hosmer hit .470 with 11 home runs, as the team was in the top 10 in USA Today's Super 25 rankings for most of the year and won a state championship.[3][5] He attracted twenty or more MLB and college scouts who evaluated Hosmer's every move.[5] Several of his amateur home runs had popularity in YouTube, which caught the attention of sports agent Scott Boras.[5] He received many achievements while in high school including being named as Florida's Baseball Player of the Year twice by the Miami Herald, a member of the Rawlings High School Gold Glove team and the American Amateur Baseball CongressConnie Mack MVP award.[5] Hosmer was offered a baseball scholarship to Arizona State University. Hosmer planned to attend Arizona State if negotiations with an MLB team did not go through.[4]

He was named as one of the top five prep baseball players in the country by several scouting agencies by the time he graduated in 2008, including number two by Rivals.com and third by both RISE Magazine and Sports Illustrated.[5][6][7][8] As "one of high school baseball top power hitters" by scouts, and a consensus top 10 pick, Hosmer was chosen by the Kansas City Royals in the first round (third overall selection) of the 2008 MLB draft.[4] Hosmer remained unsigned for most of the summer while the Royals general managerDayton Moore and Boras, operating as Hosmer's agent, negotiated a deal.[4] During negotiations, Hosmer helped lead his team based in Cincinnati, to a second-place finish at the American Amateur Baseball Congress Connie Mack World Series.[1] Both sides agreed to a contract ten minutes before the signing deadline for drafted players on August 15, 2008. He received a $6 million signing bonus, the largest sum given to a draft pick in Royals history.[4]

Soon after signing his contract, the Royals assigned Hosmer to Minor League Baseball with the Idaho Falls Chukars of the rookie levelPioneer League. Before reporting to the Chukars, Royals general manager Moore told reporters that Hosmer would not be "rushed" to reach the Majors, stating that he needs to advance though the Minor League hierarchy in his "own natural pace".[9] He played a handful of games with the Chukars before a contract dispute with another Boras client, Pittsburgh Pirates second overall pick Pedro Álvarez delayed Hosmer from playing with the team.[10] Boras had claimed that Álvarez signed his contract after the August 15 deadline had passed, thus won't report to the Pirates.[10] The Major League Baseball Players Association filed a grievance stating that Hosmer's contract was also signed past the deadline and that Major League Baseball extended the August 15 deadline without the association's permission.[10] Both sides settled the claim a month later, allowing Hosmer and Álvarez to join their respective teams.[11] Hosmer never disputed his original contract.[11] Instead of heading back to the Chukars, Hosmer was sent to the Arizona Fall League to train.

In Hosmer's first full season in the minor leagues, he was assigned to the Burlington Bees in the Class AMidwest League. At Burlington, Hosmer struggled at the plate. By June 1, he had hit only one home run in 31 games while leading the team in strikeouts.[12] He missed some time with a left pinkie finger injury.[3] At the end of the season, Hosmer hit .241 with six home runs. He later mentioned the 2009 season as "a tough year".[3] In 2010, Hosmer was named the seventh best first base prospect by Scout.com.[13] He started the season with the Royals' Class A-Advanced affiliate, the Wilmington Blue Rocks of the Carolina League. where his struggles continued. He was soon diagnosed with astigmatism, an eye condition and had laser surgery to correct the problem.[3] Hosmer returned to the Blue Rocks a week later and his hitting significantly improved.[3] By May 23 he was hitting .388 with a .571 slugging percentage. He played in the 2010 All-Star Futures Game where he had four hits and two RBI in a 9-1 victory.[14] For his effort, Hosmer was promoted to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals of the Class AATexas League on July 17, where in his first at-bat he hit a home run.[15] During the playoffs Hosmer hit six home runs, which was individually, the second highest total in a single Texas League playoff series. The team went on to win the Texas League championship.[16]

The Royals' farm system was ranked number one in baseball entering the 2011 season, led by Hosmer and another top prospect, third basemanMike Moustakas.[17] Most baseball critics agreed that the Royals, a team that was known for mediocrity the past two decades, would be a contender within a couple of years, and they had nine prospects in Baseball America's top 100, a record for the publication.[17][18] Hosmer was ranked as the best first baseman prospect in Major League Baseball prior to the 2011 season.[19] He was also rated the eighth best overall prospect by Baseball America, and the top Royals prospect overall.[20][21] So much hype was placed on the Royals that general manager Dayton Moore traded the team's best player, Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke to the Milwaukee Brewers for four top prospects, to focus on the team's future.[17] Hosmer began the season with the Royals Class AAA affiliate, the Omaha Storm Chasers of the Pacific Coast League (PCL). When the Royals purchased Hosmer's contract on May 5, 2011, he was leading the minor leagues with a .439 batting average and the PCL with 43 hits and a .525 on-base percentage.[2][22]

On May 11 at Yankee Stadium, Hosmer started as the cleanup hitter for the Royals; he hit his first MLB home run off Yankees pitcher A. J. Burnett. In his first month with the Royals, he hit .283 with five home runs and was named the Royals Player of the Month.[3] His batting average fell 14 points by the end of June, with manager Ned Yost citing "impatience at the plate".[3] He hit a game-winning two-run home run against closerMatt Capps of the Minnesota Twins on July 16.[28] The home run led the Twins to replace Capps with Joe Nathan as its closer the next day.[29] In the month of July, Hosmer was named the American League (AL) Rookie of the Month.[30] He had five hits, including a three-run home run against Brad Penny in a 10–2 win against the Detroit Tigers on September 20.[31] The next day, sportswriter Ian Casselberry of MLive.com called Hosmer a "Tiger killer" because of his statistics against the Tigers, which included a .346 batting average with four home runs that season.[32] He led all rookies in most major batting categories for September, earning him a second Rookie of the Month award.[33]

On February 18, 2012, the Royals announced they had signed Hosmer to a one-year contract for the 2012 season. No financial terms of the deal were released.[36] During spring training, Hosmer led all players with 29 RBIs and had a slugging percentage of .714.[37] Discussing Hosmer's spring training, Royals Hall of FamerGeorge Brett said, "He's a baseball player... He acts like a baseball player. And boy, he's going to be a damn good one, too."[37] By opening day, the Kansas City media was hyping Hosmer as the "face of the franchise", the city's " next future sports star", among other commentary after his performance last year.[38][39] He started at first base on opening day against the L.A. Angels, going 0-for-4. He hit a home run in a 6-3 victory the next day but later struggled, hitting below .200 for the first couple of weeks of the season as the Royals endured an 11-game losing streak entering April 24.[40] He ended the season with a .232/.304/.359 slash line to go along with 14 home runs and 60 RBIs.

On July 20, 2014, in a game against the Boston Red Sox, Hosmer was hit in the hand by a pitch from Jon Lester. At first, he was only day-to-day with a bruised hand. However, on July 31, in a game against the Minnesota Twins, he aggravated the injury on a checked swing in the fourth inning. X-rays revealed a displaced fracture of the third finger on his right hand. Hosmer missed four weeks due to the injury. He finished the season batting .270, 9 home runs and 58 runs batted in.

In the 2014 postseason, Hosmer helped lead the Royals to a record-setting run, winning three consecutive extra-inning games. After getting on base five times in the wildcard game against the Oakland A's, Hosmer also slammed a game-winning, two-run homer in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In doing so, the first baseman became the first player in MLB history to hit both a triple and a home run during extra innings in one year's postseason.[42]

In the early morning hours of October 6, after the Royals had completed their sweep of the Angels, Hosmer posted on Twitter, inviting Kansas City fans to come out and celebrate with him at a downtown bar, the Power and Light District. Eventually, it was reported, "...(h)ordes showed up, and many of the fans ended up with free drinks as Hosmer...decided to help pay for an open bar for an hour. With several teammates, he also sprayed some champagne into the crowd."[43]

On February 18, 2015, Hosmer and the Royals agreed to a $13.9 million, two-year contract. He would earn $5.65 million during the 2015 season and $8.25 million during the 2016 season, and would be eligible for arbitration again in 2017. He would not be eligible for free agency until the 2017 Off season.[44] During the 2015 season, Hosmer had a career year with a .297 batting average, with 18 home runs and 93 RBIs.[45] Hosmer also recorded the final putout of the AL Central and the American League Championship Series clinching games. On October 23, Hosmer tied George Brett for the most RBIs in the postseason (23) in Royals' franchise history when he singled Lorenzo Cain home from first base representing the go-ahead run in Game 6 of the ALCS.[46] In Game 1 of the 2015 World Series, Hosmer overtook Brett's record for the most RBIs in the postseason with a walk-off sacrifice fly to bring in Alcides Escobar in the 14th inning, representing Hosmer's 25th postseason RBI and helping atone for an eighth-inning error that helped the Mets take a one-run lead.[47] Hosmer starred again in game 2 with two hits, a run scored, and two RBIs to help the Royals take a 7-1 win and a 2-0 series lead. On November 1, 2015 Hosmer scored the tying run in the 9th inning which eventually led to the Royals win in game 5 of the World Series[48]

On July 12, 2016, Hosmer was named the 2016 MLB All-Star Game MVP in San Diego. In the second inning of the All-Star Game, he hit a game-tying home run off of former teammate, Johnny Cueto.[50] In 158 games of 2016, Hosmer finished with a .266 batting average, a career-high 25 home runs, and 104 RBI.

In 2017, Hosmer played all 162 regular season games and finished with a career-high .318 batting average while tying his best of 25 home runs. He added 94 RBI along with a career-best .385 on-base percentage. After the season, Hosmer became a free agent for the first time of his career.[51] He won his fourth career Gold Glove Award.[52]

On February 19, 2018, Hosmer signed an eight-year, $144 million contract with the San Diego Padres, the largest contract in Padres franchise history.[53] Hosmer changed his jersey to No. 30 in honor of former Royals teammate Yordano Ventura, who had died a year earlier. Hosmer's previous No. 35 was already retired by the Padres for Randy Jones.[54] In his first season as a Padre, Hosmer hit .253 with 18 home runs and 69 RBIs.